Setting device



June 26, 1962 A. L. JOHNSON 3,040,924

SETTING DEVICE Filed Nov. 28, 1960.

3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

Andrew LJohnson BY W2 flit A TTY June 26, 1962 A. L JOHNSON SETTING DEVICE 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 28, 1960 June 26, 1962 A. JOHNSON 3,040,924

SETTING DEVICE Filed Nov. 28, 1960 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Andrew LJo/mson ATT'Y.

United States Patent Filed Nov. 28, 1960, Ser. No. 72,013 9 Claims. (Cl. 218-2) This invention relates in general to setting devices and more particularly relates to an attachment for a press for feeding articles to be mounted or set.

It has long been desired to have a simple setting device for elongated stud articles which includes means for orienting a random group of such articles, feed means for carrying the articles to the setting mechanism, and means to strip the articles from the feed mechanism and thereafter set the articles in an apertured workpiece. Prior art devices have been unduly complicated and subject to jamming tendencies in actual operation. In general, heretofore, the. orientation means associated with the hopper means is separate from the feed or track means which leads .to the setting area, and this discontinuity often proves troublesome, Further, it has been the usual practice to apply separate means for actuating the track portion of a feeding device to assure movement of the oriented articles along the track. A further prior art problem has been to have two track portions in closely spaced relationship to allow simultaneous discharge of two articles.

It is a general object of this invention to provide a noncomplex orienting, feeding and an applying mechanism which solves the aforenoted problems for stud elements.

More particularly, it is an object of this invention to provide a simple hopper and feeding attachment for a reciprocating press which utilizes the reciprocation motion of the press itself for jostling and orienting, then feeding the articles to the setting mechanism, and thereafter moving the orienting and feeding mechanism out of the way of the setting mechanism during the setting operation.

Another object of this invention is to provide a unitary orienting and track means, the motion utilized for orienting the articles also accomplishing movement of the articles down the track.

It is still another object of this invention to provide an orienting and track mechanism which is unitary, both I being mounted on a common blade member so there is a non-jamming relationship between the orienting portion and the track portion.

A further object of this invention is to provide terminal ends of the track which are positioned for stripping of the articles which are removed from the terminal ends of the track during the down stroke of the press, the terminal ends then swinging out of the way of the setting mechanism during the setting operation as Well as during the up stroke of the press, all in timed relation to the movement of the press.

Still another object ofthis invention is to provide an orienting and feeding mechanism which is adapted to orient and feed long tubular members whose length exceeds the diameter by a factor as much as 10.

It is a further object of this invention to provide an orienting and feed mechanism where two tubular articles may be simultaneously fed in close spaced parallel array, the spacing between the parallel arrays being adjustable.

The novel features which are characteristic of the invention are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The invention, both as to its organization and its method of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood by a study of the following description of specific embodiments in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view, partially in sec- 3,640,924 Patented June 26, 1962 -Tlt tion showing the orienting and feeding attachment to a reciprocating press, there being two symmetrically arranged orienting and feeding attachments disposed on opposite sides of the press;

FIGURE la is a detached view of one of the moving parts of the orienting and feeding means shown in FIG- URE 1;

FIGURE 2 is a top plan view of the attachment taken generally along lines 2--2 of FIG. 1;

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view taken along lines 3-3 of FIG. 1;

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view taken along lines 4-4 of FIG. 1;

FIGURE 5 is a partial elevational view of the cam mechanism and the track means showing the relative position of the parts during the down stroke of the press member;

FIGURE 6 is a view similar to FIGURE 5 showing the relative position of the parts during the up stroke of the press; and

FIGURE 7 is a sectional view along lines 7-7 of FIG. 1.

While the instant attachment will be shown and described as associated with a standard press unit having a reciprocating upper ram and a fixed Worktable, it is to be expressly understood that thi attachment is well adapted for association with any reciprocating device wherein the movement of a setting member, staking member, screw driver unit, or the like reciprocates in a generally substantiallyvertical plane.

Returning now to the drawings, FIGURE 1 shows a press unit 10 having relatively fixed portions 12 and a moveable head or ram 14 which is adapted to move up and down in generally reciprocating fashion. A worktable 16 is disposed below the ram and mounts a Workpiece 18 thereon. The particular type of workpiece shown in the drawings is a plurality of laminations which form a stator for a motor, and as shall become apparent, the feeding and orienting mechanism together with the setting structure 20 is adapted to fasten the laminations together by insertion of the long tubular articles such as rivets 32 into the receiving holes in the stator laminations and upsetting same.

Mounted on the under side of the ram 14 is suitable setting structure 20 which is in the form of an elongated pin with suitable shoulder means which is adapted to strip the article 32 from the terminal ends of the track means and set the articles in the workpiece 18. Since the setting means moves in a fixed plane, i.e., substantially a vertical plane, it is apparent that the terminal ends of the tracks which locate the articles to be fed must be removed from the position shown in FIGURE 1 so that .it will not interfere with the setting operation after the stripping of the articles therefrom.

An attachment, generally denominated by the reference numeral 22 for feeding and orienting the articles to be fed generally comprises the fixedly mounted hopper means 24, the orienting means 26, the track means 28 and the cam means 30. As will be apparent the articles 32 are dumped into the hopper means 24 in random fashion and are later oriented by the orienting means.

The main portion of the attachment 22 is mounted to the fixed portion of the press 12 by a horizontal support plate 34. The support plate 34 is formed or blanked out to provide a large notch 35. Mounted on either side of the notch 35 (right hand portion of plate 34 as shown speopaa a V-shaped trough and open at the bottom extremity thereof. The trough is preferably made of rather heavy gage sheet metal which is bent around to form the front, the sides and the back substantially as shown in FIG- URES 2 and 7. Slide surface inserts 43 and 44, are disposed intermediate the members 40 and 42 at the front and back of the hopper means respectively, the front insert 43 having a curved surface 46 and the back insert 44 having a curved surface 48. Both of these inserts are adapted to cooperate with the unitary center board and track means 50 as shall be later described.

The unitary center board blade and track means 50 is mounted on a pivot rod 52 being keyed to it by any suitable means shown at 54 in FIGURE la. As is seen in FIGURE 7, the unitary center board blade and track means 50 may be composed of three laminas or plates 58, 60 and 62, the center plate 60 having an extension separating blade portion 56 which is substantially thinner than the remainder of plate 60 and extends vertically thereabove as shown in FIGURES 1 and 7. It is apparent that plate 60 may be made up of three plates or by such other means as will provide the required configuration. The two outboard plates 58 and 62 are configured to provide deep channels or slots 64 and 66 which are of sufficient width to freely receive the outer diameter of the article 32 when they are disposed therewithin but smaller than the head or shoulder portion of the articles. The length of the slots 64 and 66 are preferably slightly longer than the articles to be oriented. It is also apparent that plates 58 and 62 may be made of unitary material or a plurality of laminas to obtain the desired configuration of the slot. The top surfaces of the plates 58 and 62 support the heads of the tubular articles 32 and there must be sufficient space on either side of the thin extention 56 to provide a shoulder parallel with the ends of plates 58 and 62 on the central member 60. The overall Width of the three plates 58, 60 and 62 should be such that the center board and track means 50 will moveably fit within the open bottom of the hopper means to permit it to move relative thereto. As best shown in FIGURE 1a, the back surface of the three plates 58, 60 and 62 are curved for sliding cooperation with the curved surface 48 of the insert member 44 on the hopper.

The unitary board blade and track means 59 includes an intermediate upstanding lug or projection 74 which is relatively thick and is formed with a curved slide surface 76 for cooperation with the front slide insert 43 of the hopper means. As shown in FIGURE 1a, the lug 74 has a rounded lower portion which provides a stop surface 70 and 72 on opposite sides of the separating plate 56 to define an entry to the track means for oriented articles and prevent non-oriented articles 32 from leaving the interior of the hopper by the track means. The relatively thick lug 74 terminates just short of the top of the respective plate 58 and 62 to define an aperture for allowing entry of oriented parts, at the same time preventing non-oriented article 32 from moving along the track.

The track means 28 is also associated with unitary center board means 50, the entry being immediately adjacent tothe orientation portion 26. Further, the track means extends generally in depending relation and provides a pair of tracks to successively feed articles in side by side parallel array to the setting means 20. More particularly, as perhaps best shown in FIGURES 2 and 4, the two tracks separate slightly from the position in the orientation area, the center plate 60 serving as a common plate on which other things are mounted. The two separate track means are horizontally aligned and supported by upper and lower spacer member 78 and 80 respectively which are mounted to plate 60 as shown in FIGURE 4. 'Left and right hand tracks are provided by generally L-shaped track members 82 and 84 which may be made up from a plurality of pieces as suitable and desired so as to provide a configuration for trapping the heads of the tubular article 32. L-shaped members 82 and 84 are basically similar except for left and right hand considerations. As shown in FIG. 4, the members 82 and 84 each have a first L-shaped portion 82a84a having a groove 82b-84b in the bottom thereof. Essentially rectilinear rail portions 82c-84c are aligned with the outboard edges of portions 82a-84a and form a sidewall of the tracks 86 and 88. Portions 82c and 840 may be attached to members 82a and 8411 as by bolts such as shown at 84d. Portions 82] and 84 are attached and aligned to the inboard edge of portions 82a and 84a to provide the inboard edges of the tracks 86 and 88, said portions 82] and 84 being conveniently attached by bolts such as shown at 82g. Strengthening portions 82/1 and 84h are provided as shown to buttress portions 82a and 84a. It will be noted that the sides of the slots 86 and 88, which provide the article paths, are very short in relation to the articles and thus provide very little frictional surface to impede the progress of the articles down the track.

Adjustment means to adjust the horizontal spacing of the slots 86 and 88 are provided by the bolt and double nut means 90 and 92 as shown in FIGURE 4. By inwardly directing the bolts against the center plate 60, the L-shaped members 82 and 84 may each be adjusted relative to the center plate 60.

At the terminal end of the slots 86 and 88 which provide the article paths, are a pair of pivotally mounted terminal spring members 94 and 96 which are spring loaded by spring means 98 and 100 respectively. These sheet metal spring members 94 and 96 are configured so as to be curved over the ends of the slots 86 and 88 as shown in FIGURE 2 and positively position the end article 32 in alignment with the setting means 20 on the press member.

The cam means 30 associated with the pivot 52 operate to position the terminal ends of the tracks or article paths 86 and 83 in alignment with the setting means 20 and, thereafter to move the terminal ends out of the field of operation and maintain them there during the up stroke of the press so there will be no interference. Further, this cam means 30 serves to simultaneously orient loose articles 32 in the hopper means by moving the orientation portion 26 upwardly. This movement causes loose articles to become oriented and also actuates articles 32 already located in the slots 86 and 88 so as to move along these paths.

The cam means 30 is associated with the elongated pivot shaft 52 which is mounted in depending bearings 102 and 104. A crank 106 is mounted on one end of the shaft 52 and is keyed thereto by suitable means 108. The other end of the crank has a roller assembly 110 which acts as a cam follower as will become apparent. A coil spring 112 surrounds a housing around the shaft 52 to bias the roller assembly 110 against the cam, as will become apparent. One end 114 of the spring engages the center board means 50 and the other end 116 of the spring engages the depending bearing housing 102. Since the center board means 50 is keyed to the shaft 52 and the crank in turn is keyed to the shaft 52 it will be apparent that this spring 112 constantly biases the roller assembly 110 against the cam.

Mounted on a ram extension 118, attached to moveable portion of the ram 14, are cam portions or plates 120, 124 and 126. The first cam plate is fixed, by the use of an angled portion 122, to the ram extension 118 as shown in FIGURE 2. A spacer insert 124 is inserted between the plates 120 and 126, said insert 124 being considerably shorter than the two outer plates to define a slot. A moveable cam member 128 is pivotally mounted at 130 on the two outboard plates 120 and 126 to move within the slot therebetween. A spring 132 engages cam member 128 and the backside of the fixed plates 120 and 126 to bias the cam member toward the downwardly position as shown in FIGURE 6. The two Operation Assume the following initial conditions. The hopper means 24 is filled with plurality of random oriented stud articles 32. The unitary orienting and feed means 58 is located in the position shown in full line in FIGURE 1, stud articles being aligned on the track means 28, and the terminal articles 32 being aligned on the ends of the tracks directly beneath the setting means 20 on the moveable press member 14. The roller assembly 110 is adjacent the bottom of cam surface 134 as shown in FIG- URE 1, the insert cam member 128 in the position shown in FIGURE 1 and the reciprocating press member 14 at the top of its stroke. It should also be remembered that while one of the pair of attachment means 22 is being discussed, the identical thing is happening relative to the second attachment means 22 of the pair, shown to the left in FIGURE 1.

In a cyclical operation, the press member 14 moves downwardly, the setting pins on the end thereof entering the foremost tubular articles 32 so as to strip the articles from retention by the springs 94 at the terminal ends of the tracks. As the press member moves downwardly, the roller 110 follows cam surface 134 on the fixed cam members 120 and 126, which allows sufi'lcient time for the pins on the setting means 20 to engage and strip off the articles 32, thereafter, as the press continues downwardly the roller causes the terminal ends of the track to swing away from the field of operation through the crank lever, pivot shaft 52 and center board means 50. This pivoting of the entire center board means 50 causes the orienting portion 26 thereof to move through the nonoriented mass of articles in the hopper causing those which are suitably disposed to fall into the slots 64 and 66, and simultaneously increases the angle of the tracks to cause articles 32 that are then oriented to slide down the tracks. Thus, the pivoting operation described of the center board causes agitation not only of the non-oriented articles in the hopper, but agitation of the aligned articles on the tracks to accomplish movement therealong. It will be noted that the terminal ends of the tracks have been swung away from the field of operation. As the articles 32 are being set in the workpiece 18, the terminal ends of the tracks are still swung completely out of the area of operation. Then the press starts its return movement. At this time, the roller assembly 119 follows the path shown in FIGURE 6. As the roller moves up beyond the insert 128 on surface 134, it allows the latter to move into the position shown in FIGURE 6, accomplished by the bias of spring 132. On its return stroke, the roller will follow the path defined by surface 136 of the insert 128. The end of the track means 23 thus is maintained out of the area of operation during the return stroke. This also keeps the steep angular alignment of the track means 28 so as to cause gravitational pressure from the other articles on the track means to assure placement of an article adjacent to the terminal ends of the tracks. As the press member 14 approaches the end of the stroke, the roller returns to the position shown in FIGURE 1 and is ready for the next cycle. It will be noted that the irregular path followed by the roller 110 assures a nonsymmetrical movement of the center board to assure agitation for orientation and movement of articles.

From the foregoing description, it will become appareat that I have described an economical attachment for a press which will automatically and simultaneously orient random articles, feed the articles to a setting device, move the feeding means out of the field of operation subsequent to the feeding portion of the cycle to simultaneously 6 agitate the track means as well as provide additional orientation all with very simple mechanical movement requiring a minimum of parts and minimum complexity. Further, since the track means is unitary with the orientation portion, a jamming relation therebetween because of misalignment is impossible.

Although a specific embodiment of the invention has been shown and described, it is with full awareness that many modifications thereof are possible. The invention, therefore, is not to be restricted except insofar as is necessitated by the prior art and by the spirit of the appended claims.

What I claim as the invention is:

1. An attachment for a press having a reciprocating member comprising hopper means operable to store a non-oriented group of articles, unitary orienting and feeding means actuated by said reciprocating member of said press and cooperable with said hopper means and with setting mechanism on said reciprocating member comprising an orienting portion and a track portion, said track portion having terminal ends cooperable with said setting mechanism which is operable to strip articles therefrom, said unitary orienting and feeding means being pivotally mounted as a unit for relative motion to a workpiece and to said hopper means, and means cooperable with and intermediate said press member and said orienting and feed means and actuated by the reciprocating motion of said press for causing orienting of said articles on said orienting portion, movement of articles along the track portion to the terminal ends for removal by said setting mechanism, and movement of said track portion away from said setting mechanism in timed relation to movement of said reciprocating member.

2. The attachment set forth in claim 1 wherein the means intermediate the press member and the orienting and feeding means is a cam means and cam follower.

3. The attachment set forth in claim 2 wherein the cam follower is mounted on the orienting and feeding means and the cam means is mounted on the press member, said cam means comprising two cam surfaces, one cam surface being engaged by the cam follower on movement of the press member in one direction, the other cam surface being engaged by the cam follower by movement of the press member in the opposite direction.

4. A setting device comprising means having setting means reciprocally connected thereto, hopper means for containing a "plurality of random articles to be set, a unitary moveable blade means associated with said hopper means, said blade means having a pair of orienting portions and a pair of track portions for orienting articles in said hopper in a parallel and successive array, said track portions being dependingly mounted relative to said hopper means and terminating in a pair of terminal portions cooperable with said setting means, and means for moving said blade means in timed relation to movement of said setting means to permit successive pairs of articles to be carried by said setting means to a workpiece.

5. A setting device comprising press means having set ting means reciprocally connected thereto, fixedly mounted hopper means for containing a plurality of random articles to be set, a unitary moveable blade means having a pair of orienting portions and a pair of track portions for orienting articles in a parallel array, said orienting portions being disposed within said hopper means, said track portion being dependingly mounted relative to said hopper means and terminating in a pair of terminal portions cooperable with said setting means, and means for moving said blade means in timed relation to movement of said setting means.

6. The device set forth in claim 5 wherein cam means is connected intermediate said blade means and said setting means to give positive timed relation therebetween.

7. The device set forth in claim 5 wherein there is adjustment means associated with each of said track portions to vary the dimensions therebetween.

8. An attachment for a press having a reciprocating member comprising fixedly mounted hopper means having a restricted open bottom portion and operable to store a non-oriented group of articles, unitary orienting and feeding means actuated by said reciprocating member of said press and cooperable with said hopper means and with setting mechanism on said reciprocating member, said orienting and feeding means comprising an orienting portion and a track portion, said orienting portion being disposed in the open bottom portion of said hopper means to close same, said track portion having terminal ends cooperable with said setting mechanism to strip articles therefrom, adjustment means for said track means to afford -a plurality of positions therefor, said unitary orienting and feeding means being pivotally mounted as a unit for relative motion to a workpiece and to said hopper means, and means cooperable with and intermediate said press member and said orienting and feed means and actuated by the reciprocating motion of said press for causing pivotal movement of said orienting and feeding means to thereby cause orienting of said articles on said orienting portion, movement of articles along the track portion to the terminal ends for removal by said setting mechanism and movement of said track portion away from said setting mechanism in timed relation to movement of said reciprocating member 9. An attachment for a press having a reciprocating member with setting mechanism comprising fixedly mounted and horizontally aligned hopper means operable to store a non-oriented group of articles, unitary orienting and feeding means actuated as a unit by said reciprocating member of said press and cooperable with said hopper means and with said setting mechanism on said reciprocating member, said unitary orienting and feeding means comprising an orienting portion and a track portion having terminal ends, pivotally mounted as a unit for relative motion to a workpiece and to said hopper means, said unitary feeding and orienting mechanism being further characterized .as having the orienting portion thereof disposed within said hopper means to move vertically relative thereto to cause articles to be disposed thereon, said track portion being connected to said orienting portion for receiving articles therefrom, and means cooperable with said press and said unitary orienting and feeding means for utilizing the reciprocating motion of said press for causing movement of said unitary orienting and feeding mechanism and thereby the orienting of said articles on said orienting portion, movement of articles from said orienting portion along the track portion to the terminal ends for removal by said setting mechanism and movement of said track portion away from said setting mechanism in timed relation to movement of said reciprocating member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 527,895 Hoofnagle Oct. 23, 1894 1,882,031 Phelan Oct. 11, 1932 1,932,420 Nokes Oct. 31, 1933 1,997,438 Stimpson Apr. 9, 1935 2,621,824 Gookin Dec. 16, 1952 2,819,465 Mcllvin Jan. 14, 1958 2,820,966 Mcllven Jan. 28, 1958 FOREIGN PATENTS 802,717 France Sept. 14, 1936 

